A mammoth discovery: oldest DNA on record from million-year-old teeth
Nature Podcast
podcast@nature.com
4.5 • 893 Ratings
🗓️ 17 February 2021
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Researchers sequence the oldest DNA ever recovered, and the people bringing art and science together.
In this episode:
00:46 Million-year-old mammoth DNA
This week, researchers have smashed a long-standing record by sequencing a genome that's over a million years old. They achieved this feat by extracting DNA from permafrost-preserved mammoth teeth, using it to build-up a more detailed family tree for these ancient animals.
Research Article: van der Valk et al.
News: Million-year-old mammoth genomes shatter record for oldest ancient DNA
News and Views: Million-year-old DNA provides a glimpse of mammoth evolution
10:00 Research Highlights
A spacecraft catches a rare glimpse of a rock smashing into Jupiter, and the perilous state of sawfish populations.
Research Highlight: Robotic eyes spy the flash of a meteor on Jupiter
Research Highlight: Humans push a hulking fish with a chainsaw nose towards oblivion
12:18 Putting art into science (and science into art)
Art and science are sometimes considered disparate, but when brought together the results can be greater than the sum of their parts. This week we hear from an artist and a scientist on the benefits they found when crossing the divide.
Career Feature: How to shape a productive scientist–artist collaboration
Career Feature: How the arts can help you to craft a successful research career
Where I work: ‘All my art is curiosity-driven’: the garden studio where art and physics collide
Some resources for bringing arts and science together:
21:43 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a neanderthal gene makes brain-like organoids bumpy, and uncovering the original location of Stonehenge’s stone circle.
News:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello everyone. My name is Jamie Lang and I'm the host of Great Company podcast and today we are |
| 0:04.7 | very kindly sponsored by Sage. So as a business owner which you clearly are, there are tasks that need |
| 0:10.1 | doing right? Yeah, 100%. Well then, you're going to enjoy this advert. Sage's new AI productivity |
| 0:16.4 | assistant co-pilot can help you work faster, analyze how your business is performing and help |
| 0:21.2 | you make smarter decisions. Yes, Jemima, and it's powered by the latest innovations in Gen AI technology, |
| 0:27.4 | isn't it? Which means all those repetitive tasks I hate can be done so much quicker, more time |
| 0:33.7 | for scrolling on TikTok, obviously. And making TikToks. And making TikToks. Exactly. |
| 0:39.1 | Where do we visit, Jemima? Visit sage.com forward slash copilot to find out more. |
| 0:44.4 | This year, we've had a record 150,000 children homeless in England. We'll be waking up |
| 0:50.9 | homeless on Christmas morning, in cramped rooms, with nowhere to play, |
| 0:55.3 | and sometimes even having to share bathrooms with strangers. |
| 1:00.0 | This is not a home. |
| 1:02.4 | This is the heartbreaking reality, but it doesn't have to be this way. |
| 1:07.0 | Your donation to shelter could help a family find a safe place to call home. |
| 1:13.5 | Donate today at shelter.org.uk. |
| 1:24.3 | Nature. In an experiment. I don't know yet. Why is it like so far? |
| 1:28.3 | Like it sounds so simple. They had no idea. But now the data's... I find this not only refreshing, but at some level astounding. |
| 1:36.0 | Nature. |
| 1:37.8 | Nature. |
| 1:39.8 | Welcome back to the Nature podcast. |
| 1:42.5 | This week, million-year-old mammoth DNA. |
| 1:45.8 | And how art can complement science. I'm Charmney Bundell. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from podcast@nature.com, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of podcast@nature.com and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.